


open the window; let the light in

by Kendarrr



Category: Carmilla (Web Series)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-15
Updated: 2014-12-15
Packaged: 2018-03-01 15:25:52
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,025
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2778161
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kendarrr/pseuds/Kendarrr
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Reading Week. Laura asks if Carmilla wants to stay with her and her dad for the break, but… Carmilla refuses?</p><p>x-posted from my tumblr.</p>
            </blockquote>





	open the window; let the light in

Laura rolls her tense shoulders as she walks along the path that leads to her dorm. She’s just returning from finishing up another midterm—for Introduction to Anthropology, this time—when she remembers that reading week is  _next_  week. She rushes up the steps, sidestepping the girl who lives next door from her, and barges into her shared dorm room with Carmilla. The vampire is lounging on her (Laura’s) bed, reading. She looks up when Laura drops her bag on the floor.

 

“Whoa there, cupcake.” Carmilla grins at the sight of Laura. “I’m sure you missed me, but there’s no need for you to charge in like that.”

 

She’s teasing. Laura hears it in her voice, but that casual promise of devotion does not fly past her head  _this_  time. “Reading week is next week,” she says. “What are your plans?”

 

“Huh? Oh, well…” Carmilla closes her book and places it on the headboard shelf. “I’m staying right here.”

 

“No you’re not,” Laura kicks off her shoes and strips off her hoodie. She throws it over the back of her computer chair and joins Carmilla in her bed. Their newfound closeness intoxicates. It is addictive. Laura doesn’t know what it’s like to not be touching Carmilla every minute while being in the same room. They’ve been roommates for  _weeks_. How did she even survive?

 

Carmilla opens up her arms, and because they’ve been in this position before, Laura sinks into the familiarity of the vampire’s embrace. Her back against her front, arms around her stomach. Carmilla burrows her face against Laura’s neck and sighs.

 

“What do you mean I’m not?” Carmilla asks.

 

“You’re not staying here,” Laura leans her head against Carmilla’s shoulder and turns her head just so to kiss her cheek. “Because it’s dangerous and your mom is still alive, _apparently_.” She groans at this. “So it’s not safe! Not even for you, because I’m pretty sure the demon light thingy is pissed that you killed off its light bait.”

 

Carmilla is silent for a beat. “What do you suppose I should do, then?”

 

“You can always say no, but I was thinking—this is just one idea, and I’m just throwing this out there—”

 

Carmilla rolls her eyes and tickles Laura’s sides. “Spit it out, cutie.”

 

“Stay with me during reading week,” she says in a rush. Her face heats up when Carmilla looks at her with her dark eyes, the depth something Laura was  _sure_  she’ll get used to, eventually, but today is just not that day. The look unnerves her. It’s searching her face for something, and she does not know what. “Carm?”

 

“Are you sure that’s a good idea? Won’t you get sick of me?”

 

Laura snorts and she does a squirmy thing with her hips so now she’s sitting on top of Carmilla’s lap. Hands on the vampire’s shoulder, Laura grazes her nose with hers and shakes her head. “Don’t be an idiot,” she remarks. “I spent a week—a whole week! That’s seven days—”

 

“Thanks, Laura. I know how many days there are in a week.”

 

“—without you, thinking you’re gone forever.” Laura’s voice cracks and the memory of that absence inside and around her overwhelms. Carmilla’s gaze softens, and her cool hands rest on Laura’s hip. “Those were the longest seven days of my life, you know.”

 

Saying nothing, Carmilla tilts Laura’s chin for a kiss. It’s soft and gentle, and it still leaves Laura breathless no matter how many times Carmilla kisses her this way. Her stomach twists and churns. Her toes curl. Her entire body trembles.

 

“S-so anyway,” Laura clears her throat and squeezes Carmilla’s toned arms. “It’s up to you. I don’t want to guilt trip you into joining me for reading week. I’m just putting it out there.” She cups Carmilla’s cheeks and smiles. Is it wrong for her to think this three hundred and thirty four year old vampire  _cute_? “You’re always going to be welcome in my house, Carm.”

 

“Of course, you don’t have to answer right now,” Laura continues to say, reaching into her pocket for her prehistoric phone. “You have about… two days before my dad comes to pick me up.”

 

“I appreciate the sentiment, Laura, but I can’t. Not yet.” Carmilla murmurs. She kisses the slope of Laura’s shoulder and then her neck. “I’d love to, but I have to know more about what’s happening with my mother.” Laura opens her mouth but Carmilla silences her with a pained look. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be safe. I won’t do anything stupid.”

 

“But it’s your reading week too,” Laura says. “You deserve a break as much as everyone else.”

 

Carmilla smiles. Tips Laura’s chin to face her. She kisses her and hums. “I appreciate your concern, but I just want you to have fun with your dad. I’m sure he misses you.” Carmilla straightens her shoulders and grazes her thumb against Laura’s jaw. “When you come back, I’ll still be here and hopefully, the school will be safe.”

 

Resignation floods Laura’s body and Carmilla feels her fall slack against her. “ _Fine._  Doesn’t mean I’m happy about it though. I mean, I spent that long and painful week without you and now that I have you back you’re making me experience it again? That’s mean.”

 

“Sorry, sorry.” Carmilla rubs Laura’s arms. “But trust me, you won’t mind it as much because you’ll be spending most of your time with your dad. He misses you, and I don’t want to get in the way of your reunion.”

 

“Or maybe you just don’t want to meet him because you’re scared.”

 

Huffing, Carmilla pokes Laura’s tickle spots again. She writhes on top of her lap and giggles. “I’m not scared.”

 

“Okay! Stop tickling me!”

 

The vampire bites her lip and leans in for a kiss, one that Laura eagerly returns, while pale fingers deftly flick the buttons of her button-down shirt. Carmilla pushes them off and Laura shivers when she feels her warm lips against the slope of her shoulder. Carmilla’s kisses wandering to Laura’s collarbone, down to her breasts.

 

Laura would’ve continued to beg and plead for Carmilla to stay with her at her house for reading week, if only Carmilla’s hands weren’t roaming so much, if only her mouth wasn’t wrapped around parts of Laura that makes her shiver and moan. If only Carmilla didn’t kiss her with an urgency that Laura feels in the pit of her stomach.

 

So instead of worrying about it for the time being, Laura wraps her arms around Carmilla’s neck to pull her close. They don’t roll out of bed until later that night, when Laura’s growling stomach could no longer be ignored, because there was no reason to do anything else but each other.

 

* * *

The day when Laura’s dad is to pick her up comes. Carmilla lugs Laura’s suitcase down the rickety steps to the walkway, Laura nowhere in sight. The past couple of days, Laura had been a little clingy—not that Carmilla is complaining. It just bums her out that Laura was taking Carmilla’s refusal a little too hard, so the vampire made up for it with kisses and orgasms.

 

But even then, Laura still looks at her with eyes that beg. Carmilla steels her resolve when Laura walks out of the building with Perry and LaFontaine. In her hands is a package wrapped in foil. Carmilla sniffs and smells brownies.

 

“Thanks, Carm.” Laura leans in for a kiss, and Carmilla gives it to her. “Are you sure—”

 

“Laura,” Carmilla begins to say as she takes her hand. “I’ll be fine.  _You’ll_  be fine. You can call me anytime you want and I’ll answer.”

 

“I’ll keep an eye on her, L.” LaF says with a bright grin. “I won’t let her get in any trouble, I promise!”

 

“That doesn’t really mean much, coming from you.” Perry says.

 

Laura sighs and Carmilla almost wants to go anywhere with her—to a Zeta Omega Mu party, to her childhood home, to the ends of the earth—but Carmilla says nothing. Only pulls her in for a kiss, her fingers curling in Laura’s hair.

 

“I’ll miss you,” Laura whispers against Carmilla’s mouth.

 

“I know, cupcake. I’ll miss you too.”

 

Pulling away, Carmilla sees a man in the distance who looks just like the man in photos Laura keeps in a frame on her side of the bed. Carmilla keeps her distance then, as he approaches. Laura runs into his arms, and it’s a beautiful sight, to see Laura smile like that. Like the sun shining through the leaves of trees, leaving mottled light in Carmilla’s heart.

 

Laura drags the man and introduces him as her dad, and she introduces them to him. When Laura mentions Carmilla as ‘her roommate’, her dad’s eyes shine with recognition, and then a wide grin lights up his face.

 

“Thanks for looking out for my Laura here,” he says, shaking Carmilla’s hand. “She told me all about you.”

 

“Is it maybe all about how terrible a roommate I am?”

 

Laura’s dad laughs a full-belly laughter. “Spot on, though she stopped complaining recently. Probably because she got too busy to call her old man.” He nudges Laura who offers an apologetic shrug. “Anyway, we better get going. It’s nice to meet you three.”

 

He wheels Laura’s suitcase away, expecting Laura to follow. She hesitates. Grabs a handful of Carmilla’s shirt to kiss her so hard that their teeth bump. But Carmilla feels the sweltering passion of the kiss that ended too soon for her liking. By the time she regained her senses, Laura is in the car with her dad and driving away, the taillights blinking.

 

“Looks like she’s already missing you before she even left,” LaFontaine observes.

 

Carmilla shakes her head to clear it. “Yeah,” she murmurs, “me too.”

 

* * *

 

She takes a walk around campus to avoid returning to the room that smells richly of Laura. She passes by the pit from whence she came, carried by Big Red. Staring at the cracked and damaged earth, Carmilla doesn’t notice when Danny appears beside her. “Laura left already?”

 

Carmilla nods, arms crossed across her chest. “You didn’t say goodbye?”

 

“Already did. This morning.” Carmilla looks sideways at Danny who looks disheveled. Her nose still purple. “Look, I didn’t get to thank you for what you did.”

 

“Shut up, before I puke.” Carmilla glares up at the tall girl who glares back. “I didn’t do it for any of you. I did it all for Laura, so you have no reason to thank me. And I know that if you were in my position, you’d say the same thing.”

 

For a moment, Danny is silent. “You’re right,” she says. “But I’m  _not_  in your position, so I get to say it from mine.”

 

“Sure,” Carmilla says with a soft grunt. She takes a deep breath and turns to face Danny. “I should thank you too, I guess. For pulling me out of there and…”  _returning me to Laura_ , Carmilla thinks, but doesn’t say it out loud.

 

Somehow, Danny seems to understand her silence. Big Red just nods.

 

Carmilla waits for a beat, then turns and leaves. Heads to the dorm room because there’s nowhere else for her to go. As soon as she enters, a chill courses through her. Laura’s bed. Neat, with the blankets folded in crisp, perfect lines. Her absence is something Carmilla feels  _way_  too deeply.

 

The yellow pillow is on Carmilla’s bed, and on it, a sticky note.

 

_Carm♥,_

_I’m still sad that you don’t want to join me for reading week, but I know there’s not a lot I can say to convince you once you made up your mind. So, I’m leaving this pillow for you to use (since you keep stealing it anyway!)_

_♥♥♥,  
_ _Laura_

 

It’s like being shot through the heart, and Carmilla collapses on her bed. She hugs the pillow and presses her face against it. She takes a deep breath. Laura’s smell. So heady and warm and perfect. For a split second, Carmilla regrets her decision. She wants Laura all the time and to survive a week without her would be agony.

 

Carmilla plops herself on her bed. She smashes her face against the yellow pillow and breathes in deep. Closes her eyes and prepares herself for torture.

 

* * *

 

Four and a half days have passed. For those four and a half days, Carmilla spends it sleeping and walking around the campus like a zombie, because Perry insisted that Laura wouldn’t appreciate her staying locked up in their room for the entire reading week. Occasionally, she stops by the library to help LaFontaine and JP with Ancient Sumerian translations. Why they, along with Danny, are still on-campus, Carmilla doesn’t understand, and she doesn’t want to ask either.

 

Every night, Laura has been calling. Recounting things she did with her dad. Like going fishing, or shopping for new bed sheets. Once, Laura called Carmilla and the vampire could hear the distant lilt of melancholy in her voice.

 

“I went to the cemetery. For my mom,” Laura says by way of explanation. “And I told her all about you.”

 

Carmilla feels phantom pangs in her chest and it  _fucking_  hurts. “What did you tell her?” She asks softly.

 

“That you’re the best person I’ve ever met,” Laura whispers. It  _is_  late, after all. “That you saved my life. That you have every reason to be mean and cruel after all the things you’ve experienced, but you choose not to,” Carmilla bites her lip through Laura’s words. Her palm itches. She craves to touch Laura. Innocent touches, if she must. Fingers combing through her hair. Hand on her hip. A kiss on the forehead. “And that you’re an amazing kisser.”

 

At that, Carmilla laughs. “Yeah?”

 

She hears Laura giggle. “Mmhmm.”

 

Silence, for a minute. “Carmilla?”

 

The vampire smiles and closes her eyes. Her name from Laura’s lips is a beautiful sound. “Laura?”

 

“I really miss you,” she murmurs.

 

Carmilla stands up. That’s it. She’s had enough of just craving the touch of Laura’s skin against hers. She’s had enough of staying awake because sleep won’t come, because Laura hasn’t—not by her hand, anyway. Gritting her teeth, Carmilla walks out into the midnight air. Fall breeze rustling through the trees, through giant mushroom caps. “Laura? You still there? You think you can stay awake for half an hour more? You’re not too tired?”

 

“Huh? No, I’m not too tired, but what—”

 

“I’ll talk to you later. Bye.” Carmilla hangs up and she transforms into her cat form. She bolts out of the University. The scenery blurs around her as she races to the address she looked at in Google Maps way too many times to say that what she’s doing right now is out of the blue, a fleeting fancy.

 

* * *

 

Almost an hour later, Carmilla slows down and transforms back to her human form, now that she’s in a suburban area. She eventually finds Laura’s house. The porch lights are on, bathing the walkway with pale light. A light in one of the rooms tell her that Laura is still awake. Carmilla does a wall run, her strong thighs taking her up just so she can sit against the indent of space of Laura’s wall. She raps against the door with her nail.

 

Inside, she hears Laura squeak and jump in surprise. She’s clad in her usual sleeping attire—plaid PJs and a tank top. Her jaw drops when she opens up the window. The sight of a tousled girl, her hair sticking out in odd places. “Carmilla?!”

 

The vampire brings a finger to her lips. “Don’t wake your dad.”

 

“What—but how—”

 

“I’m a vampire, sweetheart. I have my methods.” Carmilla leaps in Laura’s room and takes it all in. Laura’s childhood bedroom. Her childhood bed. Childhood books stuffed in a bookshelf. Off-white walls with posters of Harry Potter. A corkboard with photos of a younger Laura with her friends from high school. A picture of Laura kissing a girl. Carmilla looks at it pointedly, and then at Laura, who just smiles.

 

“What are you doing here?” Laura asks, dusting off Carmilla’s shoulders and guiding her to sit on the foot of her bed. “I mean, I’m definitely not complaining. But more importantly, how did you get here? It’s a four hour drive from school to here, Carm!”

 

“I got lost, actually. Almost climbed the wrong bedroom window.” Carmilla spreads her knees to draw Laura in. She holds her by the hip and looks up at her. “I couldn’t handle it anymore. A week is too damn much.”

 

Laura bites her bottom lip and wraps her arms around Carmilla’s neck, knocking her back to fall against the bed. “I told you so.” She whispers in her ear.

 

The vampire groans and her arms slide around Laura’s body. She scoots them up the bed, kicking off her boots and framing Laura’s face with her hands. She kisses her, moaning softly when Laura immediately parts her lips and greets her tongue with her own.

 

With the weight of her whole world against her ribs, pinning her to the bed, Carmilla relaxes fully. Tension dissipates from her body and she has never felt this relaxed since, well, the day Laura left Silas University. Laura wriggles and drags her teeth against Carmilla’s bottom lip. The vampire’s hands that are on top of Laura’s hips wander lower, and Laura moans into her mouth.

 

“Did you sprint from school to my house to get laid?” Laura asks with a small laugh.

 

“No?”

 

Laura giggles and sits up, straddling Carmilla’s lap. “You totally did,” she teases, her hands seeking out Carmilla’s to lace their fingers together. Sitting up to hold Laura close, Carmilla kisses her lips a few times. “But since you’re already here…”

 

With a wide grin that only happens in the presence of Laura, Carmilla slides her palms up Laura’s tank top and throws it to the floor. Her hand cups Laura’s breast and she feels the fluttering of her heart against the flat of her palm. Their lips meet, and the phantom beating of Carmilla’s heart thunders against her ribcage when Laura tugs off her black shirt and buries her fingers in Carmilla’s dark, wavy hair.

 

She lies back down on the bed, on her side, and hikes up Laura’s leg over her hip. “You have to be quiet,” Carmilla murmurs against the corner of Laura’s mouth. Eyes dark and dilated from arousal meets hers. “You get  _loud,_  cupcake.”

 

“What are you talking about? No I don’t,” Laura huffs and she buries her face against Carmilla’s neck again as her hand slips down past the band of her PJs and into Laura’s panties. Already touching wet heat, Carmilla lets out a quiet groan and parts Laura’s slick folds. Against her, Laura shivers and she frames either side of Carmilla’s face. She tugs at the raven locks. Her hips bump against the vampire’s.

 

“Yes you do,” Carmilla laughs a little, her fingertips teasing Laura’s soaked clit. To prove Carmilla’s point, an involuntary moan spills out of Laura’s lips. It turns to a squeak when Laura bites down on Carmilla’s shoulder. “See? I told you so.”

 

“ _Carm_ ,” Laura whines. A certain kind of desperation drips from her tone, one that Carmilla is all too familiar with. “Please, fuck me.”

 

The plea sends a shock of arousal straight to Carmilla’s core. She reels and slides halfway on top of Laura. She takes both of the younger girl’s wrists in one hand and pins them above her head. The vampire pulls off Laura’s PJs and slides her knee between her legs.

 

“Look at me,” Carmilla murmurs, her voice a low growl against Laura’s cheek. Beneath her body, she feels every thrum and tremor, blood rushing southward. Laura opens her eyes, her lashes fluttering. The sight of her dark eyes makes Carmilla shiver. Fingers slip inside Laura, curling gently at first, to stroke the heat between her legs.

 

Carmilla’s mouth wanders along the slope of Laura’s breast, taking the stiff nipple in between her lips. She releases her hold on Laura’s wrists, her teeth grazing soft skin. Laura arches. A broken gasp. Her walls clamp down around Carmilla’s fingers while she keeps thrusting into Laura.

 

Steadily, Laura’s groans become louder. Carmilla strains her ears to hear if her father will wake, but all she can focus on is the breathy whimpers, the needy clawing of Laura’s nails against the nape of her neck. Carmilla flattens herself against the smaller girl’s body and covers her mouth with hers to muffle her moans.

 

“I-I’m about to—” Laura stammers, her body trembling. Her legs squirm when Carmilla speeds up her fingers inside her. Carmilla loves watching this, loves watching Laura fall apart by her hand.

 

But more than anything else, Carmilla loves it when she  _tastes_  Laura.

 

A quick movement, and Carmilla is between Laura’s legs. Her mouth, greedy and wanting, latches on her clit. She sucks  _hard_ , and her hand clamps over Laura’s mouth when she lets out a too-loud shriek. Carmilla flicks her tongue over Laura’s clit and continues to suck, even as Laura arches and comes, her juices trickling down Carmilla’s chin.

 

She slows down once Laura falls limp on the bed, her thighs still quaking from the force of coming in Carmilla’s mouth. The vampire grins, tongue dipping into Laura’s entrance to lick her clean. Kisses along Laura’s thighs, her hip, her belly, before she makes her way up to kiss Laura, the taste of her cum abundant on Carmilla’s tongue.

 

Laura’s eyes are squeezed shut when Carmilla rolls off her body. Her chest rises and heaves, and Carmilla feels pride in her chest at the sight of Laura’s sweaty body. She kisses Laura’s cheek and pulls the blankets over her form so she won’t get cold.

 

“Don’t go,” Laura murmurs, her eyelids already drooping. “I haven’t made you come yet.”

 

“Shh,” Carmilla brushes hair off her brow and kisses the top of her head. “It’s okay, don’t worry about it, okay love? Just go to sleep.”

 

Curling her body against Laura, Carmilla holds her until she feels her breathing even out, her pulse no longer pounding against her ribs. She stays there, in Laura’s childhood bedroom, surrounded by the normal life she once lived before she met Carmilla. The vampire kisses the slope of Laura’s shoulder before she extracts herself from Laura’s embrace.

 

In her sleep, Laura whines but doesn’t wake up. Carmilla picks up her clothes that were discarded that night to place on the foot of Laura’s bed. The sun won’t be up for another hour or two, so Carmilla has to leave before then.

 

She glances at Laura’s sleeping features. Bends down to kiss her cheek. Carmilla pulls the window open and is about to hop out when Laura stirs and wakes. “You’re leaving already?”

 

“Have to, darling. Sun’s coming up and if your dad catches me here, I have no idea what he’d do to me.”

 

“Probably invite you to stay for breakfast?”

 

“Yeah, but how are you going to explain my being here?”

 

Laura frowns but acquiesces. “Okay,” she murmurs. “I’ll see you when I get back to school? Or is this going to be a nightly thing?”

 

Grinning, Carmilla’s hand weaves through Laura’s hair and brings her in for a deep kiss to last her for the remainder of the week. She draws back, smiling at Laura’s half-lidded eyes, her lips parted. “I don’t know, love. I guess we’ll see.”

 

Carmilla waves and hops off the window ledge. She walks down the path, casual as you please. She looks back at the Hollis household and sees Laura watching her amidst the autumn-hued trees, the sky still a dark blue filled with a spattering of stars. Carmilla walks backward and blows Laura a kiss, and it makes her smile when Laura pretends to catch it to clasp against her heart.

 

She transforms into a cat then and sprints, lest she decides to screw everything else and just stay with Laura forever, however long it may be.

 

(though that  _is_  her plan in the long run, anyway.)


End file.
